Day Off Work Condiments

I suppose when you ask someone, “So what did you do on your day off of work?” the answer normally wouldn’t be, “I made condiments!” But, hey, I’m not very normal, and my list of “to-make” recipes is getting a wee bit too long. So at the first sign of a break, I pulled out the food processor, cleaned the canning jars, and went to work!

First on the list is Vegan Ronin‘s homemade Veganaise. Given the cost of the real stuff (none of that NaSoya stuff for me, thanks), I knew that homemade ought to be the way to go. But would it taste half as good? The answer is hands-down-no-way-I’m-ever-buying-Veganaise-again yes!

Secondly, I present The Perfect Pantry‘s Balsamic Mustard. After the first taste I realized that I’m never buying mustard again. Ever. See, I have this thing for fancy mustard. Along with fancy cheese. Which I don’t buy any longer, obviously. But as is the case with fancy cheese–the smellier the better–so goes mustard. Spicy, smelly, so-damn-good mustard. This takes the cake. And in the past four days, I’ve eaten half a pint jar of it.

And last, but not least, a nice tahnini salad dressing. It’s no Soul Veg dressing, but it’s not bad. Normally I’m not a big salad person, but a big bag of salad greens came in the Vegetable Husband basket, so I figured I better whip up a dressing. Loving Soul Veg’s and some other tahini dressings, I decided to try out a random recipe. It’s not bad. It’s for salad…which, frankly, doesn’t excite me like fresh-baked bread or a big jar of mustard (note to self: bake bread, slather with mustard).

Over all, the condiment-making experience rolled along smoothly. Sure, I had to wash my food processor three times in one afternoon, but the scrubbing is worth it. If just for the mustard. And the veganaise. And the opportunity to not waste any food!

Grind the mustard seed finely in a spice mill, blender, or mortar. (If using a blender, add the mustard powder to facilitate the grinding.)

Combine ground mustard seed, dry mustard powder and water in a bowl, and mix thoroughly. Let stand, uncovered, for at least 1 hour or up to 4 hours, and stir occasionally.

Scrape the mixture into a blender or food processor and add the balsamic vinegar, white wine or rice vinegar, and the sugar, salt and garlic. Process until the garlic has been incorporated and the mustard is fairly smooth.

Store in clean, dry jars, tightly capped, in a cupboard. The mustard will be ready to use in a few days.

ohhhhh man! now you’re talk’n! i’m a big fan of mustard – got about 7 different varieties in our home (dan abhors mustard – more for me!), but i never thought to make my own. totally gonna have to start! i have been known to bake a loaf of crusty bread just so i can smother each slice in creole mustard. mmmmmmmmm! i agree – vegenaise is too damn expensive, now i’m gonna start making my own, too! thanks so much for the recipes!

don’t ‘cha just love having a day off to make lots of yumminess!?! had i a long weekend (one that wasn’t around the holidays so i didn’t feel the need to bake cookies) i could see myself making condiments, cinnamon rolls, and chocolates! i think i need to schedule a day off!

I never once thought to make condiments. You have convinced me to try! I love mustard too..it does compete with gourmet chocolate, formerly cheese. Maybe because each one is so different? Dunno but I love the stuff!

what a lovely thing to do on your day off! i would looove doing such a thing if my kitchen wasn’t so cold that all the joy has been sucked out of cooking until…march. oh well. i can’t wait to try out that mustard! i am so in love with mustards of almost all kinds. i wonder where i could find mustard seeds though? not anywhere around here!

The balsamic mustard looks and sounds delicious! Life without mustard should never happen. Being such a fan of tahini, I think I need to make a batch of the Tahini Salad Dressing. Thanks for sharing the recipes!!!